Former R-C standout now an NIU hall-of-famer
by Hank Brockett
11/6/02
Just a short walk away from her Division Street home in Braidwood, Faletti cut her teeth on the intense competition only two older brothers could provide. From 8 a.m. until the call for dinner, the Falettis lived out sporting dreams. The games never ended, just continuing from day to day.
“It’s just something the Falettis did,” recalled Pat.
Faletti, who now goes by the married name of Pat Jansen, looks back on those games fondly. Of everything that followed, from high school regional championships to a celebrated collegiate career, not one accolade was possible without those sunny games of summer.
Jansen now can call herself a hall-of-famer after a mid-October ceremony. She was bestowed the honor for being part of the 1988 Northern Illinois University squad that finished in the final eight nationally, one of NIU’s most successful sports teams ever.
Fourteen years after the successful season, the team met again. And it was like not a game had gone by.
“The best part was that it wasn’t about softball at all,” said Jansen.
As 15 players on the 18-member squad traded stories of husbands, lives and kids, the friendships fostered on the field thrived outside the fences once again.
Braidwood days
In the early 1980s, the Reed-Custer softball program thrived, thanks in no small part to Faletti.
In her four years, the team won both conference and regional titles each year. That’s at a time when all high schools were lumped together without A and AA classifications. Even then, the teams she competed on featured talent much greater than school size or reputation.
“That was a great start for me,” she said. “You get used to winning and hope that continues.”
Softball still remained a game for the catching star, a mindset that contributed to her surprise in receiving an athletic scholarship for her talent.
“I didn’t even know what a college scholarship was,” said Jansen.
Dream season
NIU, as is the case today, was considered a mid-major program in the world of sports. While the school boasts a large student population, it isn’t considered a threat to most Big 10 institutions.
That made NIU’s meteoric rise into the national consciousness all the more improbable.
After a successful 1987 campaign, the Huskies took down softball’s Goliaths without once feeling like a David.
“I don’t think we ever looked at our role that way,” said Jansen.
They never expected to lose, and seldom did. As one of four seniors, Jansen led by example, not needing the title of captain (the team did not name captains).
“You just know some people look up to you and you just have to do it,” she said.
After strengthening skills in summer ball - which featured competitors from more well-known schools - NIU started strong and never looked back. The Huskies beat three ranked teams and were ranked No. 10 nationally.
The little battles that make up a season included a 16-game winning streak, an undefeated home record and an NCAA regional title. After the regionals, Jansen was selected as part of the All-Regional team.
But the laurels couldn’t obscure the next step - the Final Eight. Seeded eighth, NIU was pitted against the mighty UCLA Bruins, a perennial softball power.
After a season of powerful blasts and timely hitting, the bats fell silent. A 1-0 victory sent NIU to the losers’ bracket in the double elimination tournament, and Texas A&M ended the Huskies season two days later.
Despite a program that seemed so faraway from success and ended up so close, Jansen said the defeats couldn’t deflate the team.
“It wasn’t ever a sad thing,” she said. “You look at it as an achievement.”
But soon, the realization set in. These young women who grew so close soon must part.
Goals achieved
Jansen remains no stranger to the infield dirt and foul line chalk. She currently teaches physical education in Watertown, Wisc. and coaches the high school softball team there.
“It sure makes all the efforts, when your kids succeed, worthwhile,” she said.
At home, Jansen looks after her two children; Jordan, 10, and Taylor, 7. The Faletti blood still courses through the veins of the next generation, as the youngsters begin their sandlot careers.
It’s a situation this catcher always called for, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
This month’s induction served as a reminder of how her life’s dream became a reality. And Jansen, who feels no different with that “hall-of-famer” moniker, only wishes the old team could play together more often.
“If they could induct us every year, it would be worth it just for that,” said Jansen.